Money Makes The Racing World Go Round

Formula 3 is one of the routes to the dream of Formula One (Credit: FIA Formula 3 Europe)

In a
lot of respects, financial support is one of the key factors of ensuring a race
driver of a position within the motorsport hierarchy, when you consider how
global economies have dictated just who will be in the thick of the action,
whereas some will just be sitting at the sidelines.

Unless
there is a works drive or the chance to join a top-tier team, drivers will
always struggle to survive in a dog-eat-dog world when it comes to making that
next logical step up the ladder.

Single
seater drives, which includes GP3, GP2 and Formula One, are becoming more
costly for those that are pursuing that lifelong dream to race in the most
watched series across the globe.

Talent
alone is not necessarily a guarantee that a driver will make it up the ladder,
unless they have been scouted by one or more entities that will help back their
future career, as long as the results show that the investment will be worth
it.

One
case in point is that of Max Verstappen, who will become the youngest ever F1
driver by nearly two years, as the young Dutchman will team up with Daniil
Kvyat at Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2015 season and beyond.

The
16-year-old is currently racing with Van Amersfoort in the FIA Formula 3
European Championship, and lies currently seconds in the overall standings
behind Lotus Junior driver Esteban Ocon, who races with F3 powerhouse Prema
Powerteam.

Having
made his single-seater debut in the Ferrari Winter Series, he has shown great
potential as a future star and champion in the making, having won 8 F3 races
this year and became the first driver to take a clean sweep of victories in the
series’ history, and repeated said feat on two successive weekends.

Are
there doubters to a talent that will not be old enough to take his driver’s
test by the time he makes his F1 debut in Australia next year? Yes, there are
those skeptics that are already out with the daggers for the youngster.
However, let us not forget that we have not yet seen him in action in the
latest F1 technology to make any clear judgement.

The
same judgement were already being made with Kvyat when he was announced as part
of the team at the later part of last year, but he has impressed many with how
he has adapted to the challenges, as well as how he composes himself.

Formula
One is the dream for many racing talents that have no budget to aid them to get
a race seat, such as two-time McLaren BRDC Autosport Award runner-up Scott
Malvern, who won the Formula Ford and Formula Renault championship in
successive years, but he has, like a lot of talents, had to search further
afield to keep racing and work hard to get the monies together.

Even
outside the world of Formula One, drivers have had to make a choice that would
not be of consideration, say a couple of decades ago, as there are those that
want to be professional and get paid for what they love doing.

Sam
Bird is one prime example of this, as the former Mercedes AMG Petronas test and
reserve driver is now racing in the WEC and FIA Formula E Championships. This
is even though his efforts in becoming runner-up to Fabio Leimer in last
season’s GP2 series did not guarantee the Brit a seat in Formula One.

This
trend will continue to happen over the coming years, as racing teams are
businesses, who will want to go out there for glory, but with the sponsorship
that drivers bring to the table, it also helps to ensure that they are able to
compete and hopefully keep themselves from having to close their doors for
good.

It even
increased in tempo this past weekend, when recent driver changes took place at
Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix, where Le Mans winner André
Lotterer replaced Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham, as well as Alexander Rossi and
Max Chilton being pushed to and fro at Marussia, due to funding issues.

This
really puts into clear perspective and just shows just how things can change in
an instant, which can lead to another’s joy, whereas the other party has to
bear the brunt of bitter disappointment.

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Bio

Alex is currently working within the automotive industry, but has motorsport rushing through his veins, where he is continuing to forge a growing career as a motorsport journalist on two and four wheels. His varied taste in racing includes F1, DTM, WEC, MotoGP and much more. Alex enjoys films, music, going out, acting, singing, and surprisingly, Zumba. He also runs "Not Just The View," an abstract look at motorsports all over the world, with an international following.

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